Tag Archives: Archaeology
On soap, water and being worth it
We’re bumping along a track through scrubby woodland in a because-we-need-it four-by-four. It’s the end of a dehydrating day spent working in a haze of heat and orange dust. Digging, sieving, scraping. Tstetse flies biting through clothing, sweat bees dipping … Continue reading
Suzy’s cabin, a missed appointment & a little yellow pill
‘I’ve got a cabin on the game reserve – you can borrow it if you like.’ That’s Suzy speaking. She’s in Swaziland with the US Peace Corps and has the most amazing hair – long, naturally blonde, it falls nearly … Continue reading
Blind fury – a tale of failure from the bush (and possibly a parable for 2012)
Jim’s had a quadruple bypass, he’s in his mid 70s and lied about his age to get on the dig. A skilled engineer, he coaxes the ancient, paraffin-fuelled Coca Cola fridge back to life –for a day at least. Deanne … Continue reading
Mr Sledge sings thrice & the Land Rover doesn’t turn into a pumpkin
‘When a ma-an loves a wom-an . . . ’ Percy’s warming up, the same song three times, the same lines three times, testing the sound system. Not sure we can stay till he does his thing for real because … Continue reading
Banished
My last night in the bush. Last bath in a tin tub, perched on a ledge, way above the plain. By day you might see zebras as you wash away the dust. By night you lie back, gazing on shooting … Continue reading
A sinister cave, the Twins at St Clare’s & a rather radical departure
I don’t like caves. There’s one in Zambia I never want to see again, a jagged hole in a shard of grey rock that punctures a flat horizon. At night sometimes it hums. A jackal lives there – he ventures … Continue reading
Socks and drugs and rocks that roll
Baby elephants are cute, yes? Ever been knocked flying by one? I have. Through a fence. I was leaning on it at the time. He was being ‘introduced’ back into the wild. I’d been feeding him oranges. That’s gratitude for … Continue reading
MEMOIRS OF A HUSK 